The end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026 proved challenging for the crypto industry. A prolonged correction* intensified pressure on investors, and the overall cryptocurrency market capitalization declined significantly. However, it was precisely amid the downturn that events began unfolding that could reshape the balance of power within the crypto sector. Some of them came as a complete surprise even to experienced market participants.
* A correction is a temporary decline in an asset’s price following a period of growth. In financial practice, a correction typically refers to a drop of 10% or more from a recent peak. A correction does not necessarily signal the beginning of a crisis — more often, it represents a natural stage of the market cycle.
Bitcoin Cash breaks into the top 10 cryptocurrencies
Despite the general decline in prices, one of the most well-known Bitcoin forks* — Bitcoin Cash — demonstrated the opposite trend. In early February 2026, Bitcoin Cash began rising rapidly and climbed to the tenth position in the CoinMarketCap ranking by market capitalization.
* A fork is a change to the consensus rules of a blockchain protocol, after which the network begins operating under updated rules. Depending on the nature of the changes, the network may continue as a single system or split into two independent chains. Forks are divided into two main types: soft forks (updates compatible with the previous version of the protocol, which usually do not result in a network split) and hard forks (incompatible updates that can lead to a blockchain split and the emergence of a new chain).
The asset’s market capitalization* exceeded $9 billion, allowing it to surpass strong competitors such as Cardano and Hyperliquid.
* Market capitalization is the total market value of all units of an asset currently in circulation. In cryptocurrencies, capitalization is calculated using the formula: Price per coin × Number of coins in circulation. This indicator is used to assess the size, relative significance, and “weight” of an asset in the market. The higher the capitalization, the larger and generally more stable the project is considered compared to assets with lower market value.
Notably, Bitcoin Cash was the only asset in the top ten (excluding stablecoins) to show positive performance over the past 90 days. During this period, the price of Bitcoin Cash rose by more than 18% — from $472 to $556. On an annual basis, the increase amounted to approximately 74%.
Analysts attribute this surge to several factors. First, some investors may have temporarily shifted to alternatives to Bitcoin amid reputational pressure on the leading cryptocurrency. Second, increased liquidity and growing speculative interest also supported Bitcoin Cash’s upward trend.
Long-term holders realize losses on BTC
The decline in Bitcoin’s price had a noticeable psychological impact on both short-term traders and long-term investors. The situation somewhat resembles the period of the Terra protocol collapse in May 2022.
According to Glassnode analysts, the SOPR* indicator — which reflects the ratio of realized profits to losses on transferred coins — fell below 1. In February 2026, the indicator stood at 0.88.
* SOPR (Spent Output Profit Ratio) is a metric that shows whether coins moved on the blockchain are being sold at a profit or at a loss relative to their purchase price. If SOPR is above 1, it means that, on average, investors are selling coins at a higher price than they bought them, thereby realizing profits. If the indicator falls below 1, it indicates that sales are occurring below the acquisition price, meaning market participants are realizing losses.
This suggests that long-term holders began selling Bitcoin at a loss — a phenomenon historically observed in the later stages of a bear market*.
* A bear market is a prolonged period of declining asset prices accompanied by investor pessimism and reduced trading activity. It is typically characterized by a drop of more than 20% from peak values.
The last time SOPR was below 1 was in 2022, during a major crisis in the crypto industry. A decline in SOPR is traditionally interpreted as investor capitulation and a potential sign that the market bottom may be near.
Ethereum BPO hard fork: an update without much noise
On January 7, 2026, the Blob Parameter-Only (BPO) hard fork was activated on the Ethereum network, passing almost unnoticed in the media space.
As part of the update, the blob* limit was increased from 15 to 21, expanding the network’s throughput. The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) can now process up to 2.6 MB of data per block.
* Blobs are large data batches added to transaction blocks. They were introduced in 2024 as part of the major Proto-Danksharding (EIP-4844) upgrade and are intended to improve the efficiency of Layer 2 (L2) solutions.
Thanks to BPO, additional momentum was gained by L2 projects* such as Arbitrum, Polygon, and Mantle. Improved network parameters increase throughput and reduce scaling costs.
* L2 projects (Layer 2) are additional solutions built on top of the main network (Layer 1) that enhance blockchain throughput and lower transaction fees.
The Jeffrey Epstein scandal and its possible link to the crypto industry
In February 2026, intense discussions erupted within the crypto community following publications suggesting a possible connection between Jeffrey Epstein and the early development stage of Bitcoin.
Disclosed correspondence revealed contacts between the financier and Bitcoin developer Gavin Andresen as early as 2011. Additional resonance came from a statement by CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju, who suggested that Epstein may have invested in Bitcoin during its early stages.
Furthermore, according to media reports, Epstein invested approximately $3 million in Coinbase — one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges — and even met with former SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) Chairman Gary Gensler to discuss the development and regulation of digital assets.
Experts note that the publication of this information triggered a reputational crisis for Bitcoin. Amid mounting informational pressure, the price of “digital gold” fell below $70,000 in February 2026. Over the past month, Bitcoin lost more than 25% of its value — a phenomenon analysts dubbed the “Epstein effect.”
BlackRock strengthens its position in DeFi through Uniswap
The expansion of the world’s largest investment company — BlackRock, which manages over $10 trillion in assets — into the crypto market continues to gain momentum. In 2024, BlackRock launched the Bitcoin ETF* iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), marking a significant step toward the institutionalization of the crypto industry.
* A Bitcoin ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund) is an exchange-traded investment fund whose shares are traded on a traditional stock exchange. In the case of a Bitcoin ETF, the fund either directly holds Bitcoin or uses instruments tied to its price. By purchasing fund shares, an investor effectively gains exposure to Bitcoin’s price dynamics without needing to create a crypto wallet, store private keys, or interact with crypto exchanges. Thus, a Bitcoin ETF simplifies participation in the crypto market for institutional and traditional investors.
In 2026, the company took another step — announcing the placement of the tokenized BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) on the decentralized exchangeUniswap.
As of February 2026, Uniswap remains the leader among DEX platforms by total value locked (TVL)*, exceeding $3 billion. By comparison, its closest competitor, PancakeSwap, holds around $2 billion in total value locked.
* TVL (Total Value Locked) is a metric that reflects the total value of assets deposited and locked in the smart contracts of a specific DeFi protocol. This includes cryptocurrencies and tokens that users have supplied for trading, lending, staking, or other operations. The higher the TVL, the more funds are entrusted to the platform, and the greater its role and significance within the decentralized finance ecosystem.
The BUIDL fund itself has already accumulated more than $2.3 billion in TVL. Integrating such an instrument into DeFi infrastructure could significantly enhance Uniswap’s liquidity and narrow the gap between traditional financial instruments and decentralized protocols.
Analysts view this move as the beginning of closer interaction between institutional capital and the DeFi sector, potentially reshaping the structure of the crypto market in the long term.